Piper Sandler Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $108.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $109.00 to $108.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on PRU. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.62.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $103.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $36.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.23%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after buying an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,859,000 after buying an additional 116,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after buying an additional 678,028 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.